Semi-Homemade Caramel Cake (with Cake Mix)

In the South, caramel cake is a staple. Let me show you how to make a decadent, moist, old-fashioned caramel cake using a cake mix for an easy, semi-homemade dessert!

Table of Contents

1. Semi-Homemade Southern Goodness
2. Ingredients for Semi-Homemade Caramel Cake
3. How to Make Southern Caramel Cake with Cake Mix
4. Tips and Tricks for Making Caramel Cake
5. More Decadent Cakes from I Heart Recipes
6. Southern Caramel Cake Recipe

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Hi friends! Today, we’re taking on the final boss: caramel frosting. That’s right! This delicious recipe may be semi-homemade, but the truly homemade part is the decadent, deep, rich caramel frosting that tops a buttery, moist yellow cake.

I looooove this cake. It’s a holiday favorite in many Southern and Soul Food households, including mine! But it’s a pain in the butt to make, and that’s exactly why I end up making it only once a year. I’ve been known to make my old-fashioned Southern caramel cake recipe from scratch, but today, we’re making it a bit easier thanks to a box cake mix.

Semi-Homemade Southern Goodness

Making the actual cake is the easy part. And don’t y’all worry – I promise you’ll still get that homemade taste even when you make this caramel cake with the mix! The secret is homemade caramel icing. It’s rich and buttery with a deep caramel flavor. You won’t even be able to tell there’s a box mix under there!

For this recipe, we’re taking a plain old yellow cake mix and hyping it up with a few extra ingredients, making it taste homemade. When it’s time to tackle the frosting, I seriously recommend using an electric mixer – either a stand mixer or a hand mixer if you have one – or else you WILL be in the kitchen all day making this frosting!

Ingredients for Semi-Homemade Caramel Cake

So, what do y’all need to make this sweet Southern treat? Y’all know the drill. Scroll on down to the recipe card to see the exact ingredient measurements. Here, I’ll list the basic ingredients needed for your shopping list.

• Yellow Cake Mix: I use a 15.25 oz. package of boxed yellow cake mix. As far as brand, I usually go with whatever is on sale – whether that’s Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, or the store brand, it does not matter to me!
• Eggs & Vegetable Oil: These are called for on the cake mix box, so we will be using them.
• Buttermilk: I add buttermilk to my cake batter to make it extra moist (this is a great cake mix hack for that homemade taste).
• Rum & Vanilla Extract: A little bit goes a long way in enhancing the flavors of the cake and the frosting.
• Salted Butter: Caramel frosting is pretty butter-heavy, so maybe don’t worry too much about counting the calories per slice.
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: We’re making homemade caramel, so you’ll need both kinds of sugar. It does not matter if you use light or dark brown sugar (but dark brown sugar will give you a deeper caramel flavor).
• Heavy Cream: This is used in the frosting to make it nice and creamy.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – also called powdered sugar: This is what turns the caramel sauce into the frosting consistency.

Baking Equipment Needed:

• Hand Mixer or Electric Stand Mixer: Seriously, y’all – the frosting has to mix for about 15-20 minutes, so take all the help you can get!
• Large Saucepan: to make the initial caramel sauce.
• 9-inch Cake Pans: This is a two-layer cake, so you’ll need two cake pans. Pro-tip: You’ll want to make sure they’re non-stick and very well-prepped with baking spray or butter to avoid any chance of sticking.
• Wire Rack: Turning the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely is an important step. We want the cake to cool to at least room temperature before frosting!

Usually I offer up ingredient swaps and substitutions, but this is one of those recipes where I highly recommend following the recipe as written! My only approved swap would be using unsalted butter instead of salted. This is a minor swap that you can easily adjust for by adding juuust a pinch more salt to the frosting.

How to Make Southern Caramel Cake with Cake Mix

Okay, friends – now’s the time for the good stuff: the instructions! As always, the detailed instructions are included in the recipe card below (which you can print out to keep on hand!). I also have a handy video tutorial showing you exactly how I made this semi-homemade caramel cake. You can watch it below, or hop on over to I Heart Recipes on YouTube!

How to Make the Yellow Cake:

1. In a large bowl, combine the boxed cake mix (sift it first to get rid of any lumps) along with the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and rum extract.
2. Mix until the cake batter is smooth.
3. Prep your two cake pans, then divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans.
4. Bake the cake according to the box directions.
5. Once done, allow the cakes to cool in their pans long enough to be safe to handle, then turn them out to finish cooling on a wire rack.

How to Make the Caramel Frosting:

1. In a large saucepan, add ½ cup of butter, 1 ½ cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 tsp salt, and ½ cup of heavy whipping cream. Mix everything over medium heat.
2. In a separate pan, melt down ½ cup of white sugar. Once the sugar is melted and beginning to caramelize, pour it into the other pan with the sugar and cream. (It will bubble a bit at first!)
3. Let the caramel cook to a very low boil – about 30-60 seconds – remove it from the heat, and then add the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the caramel into a large mixing bowl (or use the bowl of your stand mixer) and whisk on low speed for about 10 minutes.
5. Change the attachment from the whisk to the mixing paddle, then add the remaining butter (4 tbsp) and heavy cream (1/4^th cup); continue to mix until everything is combined.
6. Finally, add the powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time, and mix for an additional 5-10 minutes until all the sugar is added and a frosting forms.

How to Frost the Caramel Cake:

1. Take one of the 9-inch cakes and turn it upside down on your cake platter. Spread a layer of caramel icing over the cake and smooth it out.
2. Add the next cake right side up on top of the layer of frosting. Then ice the cake completely – on top and down the sides of the cake. Smooth the frosting out with an offset spatula.
3. Let the cake set for 45-60 minutes at room temperature (or in the fridge) before serving.

And there you have it, Cousins! An easy, tasty, semi-homemade Southern-style caramel cake with cake mix. Even Southern cooking (or in this case, baking) can be made simple with some semi-homemade shortcuts!

Tips and Tricks for Making Caramel Cake

I wanted to share a few Cousin Rosie tips for making this cake, specifically, the frosting! Many readers have reported that their frosting doesn’t look quite like mine. I will tell you now – practice makes perfect! No one makes a perfect Southern-style caramel frosting on their first try. So, if you’re planning on making this cake for a special occasion, I suggest getting a few practice runs in ahead of time!

• Always keep your eye on the pan when making the caramel sauce! This is where things can go wrong in a hurry. The sugar can burn, the caramel will be overcooked, and all of a sudden, it’s totally ruined.
• The frosting is supposed to be looser than a traditional buttercream. It will set up into a nice, firm, silky smooth frosting, especially when stored in the fridge.
• You want to frost your cake layers before the frosting begins to set or else you’ll rip apart that nice, moist cake!
• The perfect time to make the caramel frosting is while the cake cools. This will give your cakes plenty of time to cool, but not so much time that your frosting will begin to set.
• While less traditional, this caramel cake would be outta-this-world delicious paired with chocolate cake instead of yellow cake.
• Store leftover caramel cake in the fridge for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap.

More Decadent Cakes from I Heart Recipes

So, did you try making this semi-homemade caramel cake with the actual cake mix? What about my from-scratch version? Let me know in the comments below! Looking for more cake recipes? I gotcha covered! Here are some fan favorites to try next.

• German Chocolate Cake from Scratch
• Southern Hummingbird Sheet Cake
• The Ultimate Carrot Cake Recipe
• Semi-Homemade Banana Pudding Cake
• Moist Layered Pumpkin Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
• Old Fashioned Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Don’t forget to tag and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, subscribe to I Heart Recipes on YouTube, and check out I Heart Soul Food, Super Soul Food with Cousin Rosie, and A Cousin Rosie Holiday with many recipes you can’t find anywhere else.

Southern Caramel Cake Recipe

This cake is a labor of love…but well worth it! A moist yellow cake iced in a sweet (homemade!) caramel frosting is an indulgent treat you'll love. 

Watch Video Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert / Treat

Cuisine Southern

Keyword Southern Caramel Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Setting Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

Yellow Cake Batter

• 15.25 oz package of yellow cake mix
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rum extract

Caramel Frosting

• 1 1/2 sticks salted butter
• 1  1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine the boxed cake mix (sift it first to get rid of any lumps) along with the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and rum extract.
  15.25 oz package of yellow cake mix, 3 medium eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp rum extract
• Mix until the cake batter is smooth.
• Prep your two cake pans, then divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake the cake according to the box directions.
• Once done, allow the cakes to cool in their pans long enough to be safe to handle, then turn them out to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Frosting

• In a large saucepan, add ½ cup of butter, 1 ½cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 tsp salt, and ½ cup of heavy whipping cream. Mix everything over medium heat.
  1 1/2 sticks salted butter, 1  1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp salt
• In a separate pan, melt down ½ cup of white sugar. Once the sugar is melted and beginning to caramelize, pour it into the other pan with the sugar and cream. (It will bubble a bit at first!)
  1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Let the caramel cook to a very low boil – about 30-60 seconds – remove it from the heat and then add the vanilla extract.
  2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pour the caramel into a large mixing bowl (or use the bowl of your stand mixer) and whisk on low speed for about 10 minutes.
• Change the attachment from the whisk to the mixing paddle, then add the remaining butter (4 tbsp) and heavy cream (1/4^thcup); continue to mix until everything is combined.
  1 1/2 sticks salted butter, 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• Finally, add the powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time, and mix for an additional 5-10 minutes until all the sugar is added and a frosting forms.
  1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

How to Frost the Caramel Cake

• Take one of the 9-inch cakes and turn it upside down on your cake platter. Spread a layer of caramel icing over the cake and smooth it out.
• Add the next cake right side up on top of the layer of frosting. Then ice the cake completely – on top and down the sides of the cake. Smooth the frosting out with an offset spatula.
• Let the cake set for 45-60 minutes at room temperature (or in the fridge) before serving.

Video

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© 2025 I Heart Recipes

Recipe by: I Heart Recipes

Don’t forget to tag and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, subscribe to I Heart Recipes on YouTube, and check out I Heart Soulfood, Super Soul Food with Cousin Rosie and A Cousin Rosie Holiday with many recipes you can’t find anywhere else.